The U.S. severed formal diplomatic ties with Iran shortly after the Iran hostage crisis, in which 52 American hostages were held for 444 days, ending in 1981. There has not been an American embassy in Tehran since. Likewise, there is no Iranian embassy in Washington, D.C. Each government bases their business in the other’s capital in the embassy of a third-party country.

She also acknowledged that the U.S. was helping Iranians circumvent government blocks and restrictions on the Internet and other digital communication — which could be fortunate should Iran attempt to block the new “embassy.”